Who’s doing the right thing in leadership, management and

governance?

Roger Steare Corporate Philosopher and

Visiting Professor of Organizational Ethics

© Copyright 2008 Roger Steare Consulting Limited

environmental meltdown…

social meltdown…

economic meltdown…

+ =

greed + fear = dummy

think differently…

our agenda

great leadership and virtue what do we mean by “doing the right thing”? how do we develop a moral conscience? the results of the ethicability® Moral DNA Test leadership, virtue, dialogue and community governance, management and leadership don’t panic, there is always hope

great leadership and virtue

Source: “Good to Great”, Jim Collins, Random House, 2001

In “Good to Great”, Jim Collins and his team demonstrates that in Fortune 500 companies over 30 years, the most successful businesses outperformed the market by an average multiple of 6.9 for at least 15 years

“Good to Great” companies have leaders who– display moral virtues such as personal humility, fierce resolve

(fortitude) and self-discipline (temperance)– put the interests of the wider business franchise first – before

personal self-interest – i.e. personal accountability “Good to Great” company employees generally shared and lived

meaningful core values, not empty rhetoric or “wallpaper”. In other words, they focused on shared values, not cultural differences

The only bank is this group was Wells Fargo The only US bank still with a AAA rating is Wells Fargo

great leadership and virtue

what do we mean by “doing the right thing?”

how do we develop a moral conscience?

You go to an ATM and instead of dispensing the €200 you keyed in, it dispenses €400 because the machine has been stacked with the wrong notes.

Q. What would be the right thing to do and why?

a. Keep the money because it’s the bank’s fault and besides you deserve a little payback for all those bank charges

b. Return the money because it’s theft if I keep it and I might get traced and prosecuted

c. Return the money because it belongs to the bank’s shareholders, like me, my family and my friends

d. Return the money because honesty is a non-negotiable principle for me

a. Greed and fear - what’s right is what’s best for me

b. Rule Compliance- what’s right is doing what we’re told- don’t think, just obey

c. Social Conscience– what’s right is what’s best for others– friendship, empathy, kindness, altruism

d. Principled Conscience– what’s right is guided

by the virtues of our internal moral compass

– courage, justice, self-discipline, trust, hope

the ethicability® Moral DNA Test

measures our preferences for making moral decisions on three scales:– Rule Compliance – governance and management– Social Conscience - stakeholder outcomes– Principled Conscience - virtuous leadership

supported and promoted by Cass Business School, PwC and Times Online

20,738 completed tests by people from 162 countries between July-August 2008

RuleComplianc

e

Management and Governance

PrincipledConscienc

e

Virtuous Leadership

SocialConscience

Leadership and Dialogue within a

Community

leadership, management and governance

don’t panic, there is always hope

virtue is simple, but hard

more wisdom = less mindlessness

more humanity = less suffering

more willpower = less greed

more courage = less fear

more hope = less despair

a message of hope

www.ethicability.org